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Ok, I knew going in that this was a
David Cronenberg film and that I couldn't expect a normal or
mainstream movie. And sure enough, I got what I expected: a
mind-bending, far-out psychological drama which you find out many
times isn't taking you where you think you are going based on what
you are seeing on the screen.
This films starts out with a marvelous opening shot of a train
arriving at the station with lots of people getting off and walking
down the platform. The last person off is Dennis Cleg (Spider)
who we know right away is a most troubled individual and a total
wreck just by looking at him. Somehow, Spider finds his way to
the halfway house where he will live and is managed by Mrs.
Wilkenson. Spider soon begins to flash back to his childhood
and we hear him mumbling incoherent conversations which are
sometimes real and sometimes imaginary. His memories seem to
center on a love triangle between his father, mother, and a
prostitute. But things are not as clear cut as it seems
because we see that some characters are at times being played by the
same person, thus creating a confusing situation regarding what is
it exactly that Spider knows that is the truth and what are the
events which are imaginary. Suffice to say, the rest of the
film centers on Spider struggling with these memories.
First of all, this is film is SLOW and very deliberate. But
this is not a criticism of the film at all. Cronenberg slowly
lets the audience be drawn into this character named Spider and lets
every scene be played out in the most deliberate pace to set the
mood of the story. This haunting mood of the film draws the
audience in such a way that it is impossible to look away.
This is not a film for those people with a short attention mindset.
Ralph Fiennes is nothing short of magnificent playing this
schizophrenic named Spider. Although, I would say in one
respect it has to be one of the easiest roles to ever do only
because there is so little dialogue for him to say, and what he does
say is very muted and mostly incomprehensible. He makes Brad
Pitt in Snatch sound like a Harvard graduate. However, Fiennes
puts on a brilliant performance playing one of the most troubled and
wreck of a human being I've ever seen on film. From his
clothes to his uncombed hair to just the look on his face, we know
that this is an individual who has not had a clear thought in his
mind for a very long time. Miranda Richardson and Gabriel
Byrne also put in great performances and add a lot to the movie.
This is a film where I'm sure I didn't understand everything I was
seeing and probably missed many metaphors and signs which might give
clues on the events unfolding before my eyes. But this is a
film where I just had to know what was coming next and where it
would end up in the end, even if there wasn't a clear resolution to
the story. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen for a
second, being afraid that I would just miss something. Some
Cronenberg fans might be disappointed in this film because the
violence, gore and sexual images that permeated much of his earlier
films are not present in this one.
I've always been a fan of good films that deal with schizophrenia
and Spider did not disappoint. I know I have to see this film
several times to appreciate everything that Cronenberg put into the
story. Trying to figure out what is truth and what is only
Spider's troubled imagination just adds to the experience of
watching this film.
-- Mike
( 3 1/2 out of 4 pops )
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